West Bromwich Albion manager Sam Allardyce calls for Premier League 'circuit break' after coronavirus surge

WEST BROMWICH ALBION PLAYER RATINGS: Sam Johnstone 5 – Romaine Sawyers will no doubt get the blame for the opening goal, but Johnstone was out of his goal in a dubious position. He had no chance with the second, third, fourth or fifth, though, and he did his best to prevent a worsening scoreline when he denied Raphinha. AP

Darnell Furlong 4 – Was arguably culpable for two of the opening four goals, in particular gifting Harrison too much time and space inside the box for Leeds’ third. Getty Images

Dara O’Shea 4 – Had a tough evening and his luck was compounded when Rodrigo’s left-footed shot deflected off him to wrong-foot Johnstone. Made a clinical block in the second half, but was too little too late. PA

Semi Ajayi 4 – Was caught out a couple of times, either by being in the wrong position or by switching off, and he found Bamford a real handful. Getty Images

Lee Peltier 4 – A late replacement for Kieran Gibbs, he had a torrid first half in what was his first Premier League start for the Baggies. A debut to forget. Getty Images

Grady Diangana 4 – Looked lightweight and ineffective. His passing was predictable and he couldn’t keep up with Leeds’ movement, though he did have Albion’s best chance of the game. PA

Romaine Sawyers 4 – Gifted the visitors with the lead with a dreadful blind back pass from outside the area that left Johnstone with no chance. Wasteful with the ball, he had a tough night against Leeds’ energetic midfield. AFP

Conor Gallagher 6 – Arguably the brightest spark for West Brom on an evening when those around him let them down. He looked tired after the Liverpool game, but at least kept going even when the chips were down. Getty Images

Matt Phillips 4 – Substituted at the break, it simply wasn’t his night. He gave the ball away too often and was powerless to stem the tide in the other direction. AFP

Callum Robinson 4 – A frustrating night which was summed up when he blasted high and wide before the end. AFP

Karlan Grant 4 – Actually held the ball up well at times, which isn’t normally his game. However, he had very little time on the ball and contributed few positive exchanges. Getty Images

SUBS: Matheus Pereira (Grant 60) 4 – Came on at 4-0 down so had an impossible task. Arguably should have started the game, as Albion missed his creativity.

Branislav Ivanovic (Phillips 45) 4 – Was completely undone when Raphinha cut inside him to score the fifth. AP

Filip Krovinovic (Diangana 72) N/A – Played some neat passes but the game was long gone when he came on, which made it difficult to have a positive influence (no match photo available).Getty Images

LEEDS UNITED PLAYER RATINGS: Illan Meslier 6 – Had little to do in the first half but almost pressed the self-destruct button at the start of the second; a wayward pass inside his own box inviting pressure and forcing him into a save from Diangana from close range. Getty Images

Stuart Dallas 9 – Another accomplished performance from the left-back. He never stopped running, particularly when getting forward, and he added an assist when he linked up with Raphinha. Getty Images

Luke Ayling 8 – Had little to do defensively but was clearly heard shouting ‘don’t foul’ several times, with Leeds clearly instructed to reduce the number of cheap free-kicks. Looked very accomplished when bringing the ball out of defence. Getty Images

Pascal Struijk 8 – Continues to look increasingly comfortable in the centre of Leeds’ defence. Won all of his headers and stuck close to his man. Seems to be developing a neat partnership with Ayling, and with Phillips in front of him. EPA

Ezgjan Alioski 8 – Doubled Leeds’ advantage with a ferocious strike after the ball deflected off Bamford and into his path. He was all over the pitch as he worked tirelessly for the team, and he linked well with Dallas. AFP

Kalvin Phillips 8 – A strong performance in which he dictated the pace of the game and was at the centre of everything for Leeds. Reuters

Mateusz Klich 7 – Assisted Rodrigo’s goal but was taken off on the hour mark with an injury. PA

Raphinha 7 – Tried to get in on the goalscoring action before the break but his effort was pushed around the post by Johnstone. There was little Johnstone could do to stop him from scoring in the second half, though, Raphinha cutting inside Ivanovic and unleashing an unstoppable effort into the top corner. Getty Images

Rodrigo 7 – Claimed Leeds’ fourth though his effort was heavily deflected by O’Shea to leave Johnstone with no chance. Was heavily involved throughout. PA

Jack Harrison 8 – Had a superb half chance midway through the first half and went one better shortly afterwards when, after a neat one two with Bamford, he checked back before hammering the ball into the roof of the net. His crosses caused a lot of problems. Reuters

Patrick Bamford 7 – Was heavily involved as the fulcrum of Leeds’ attack but oddly didn’t have too many goalscoring chances, one assist his only reward for a good night’s work. He came closest with a shot that was blocked by O’Shea 10 minutes from the end. PA

SUBS: Jamie Shackleton (Klich 57) 7 – Was involved in Leeds’ fifth goal, winning the ball and playing an incisive pass. Getty Images

Pablo Hernandez (Rodrigo 70) 7 – Played some lovely give and gos when he came on and carved open the home defence on one occasion (no match photo available).Getty Images

Helder Costa N/A – Got the last nine minutes but the game was long finished by then. Getty Images

Sam Allardyce has called for a "circuit break" in the Premier League as the number of positive coronavirus tests continued to rise.

After Manchester City's match at Everton on Monday was postponed due to cases within the City camp, there were doubts over Sheffield United's trip to Burnley on Tuesday, though the fixture ultimately went ahead with the Clarets winning 1-0.

A report in The Daily Telegraph said representatives of some top-flight clubs had proposed a two-week 'cooling off' period, and West Brom manager Allardyce insisted it was the "right thing" to cope with the outbreak.

"When I listen to the news the variant virus transmits quicker than the original virus, we can only do the right thing which is have a circuit break," Allardyce said after his side's 5-0 defeat to Leeds.

"I am 66 years old and the last thing I want to do it catch Covid. I'm very concerned for myself and football in general. If that's what needs to be done we need to do it.

"No matter how hard we try, no matter how many times we get tested, how we wear our masks, how we sanitise our hands, we're still catching a lot infections round the country.

"If that helps [circuit breaker], let's do it and let the season run a little longer when we get through it."

The Premier League this week returned its highest number of positive tests this season. Between December 21 and 27, the League tested 1,479 players and club staff and 18 tested positive, eclipsing the previous highest number of cases – 16 in the week of November 9-15.

The PA news agency understands the Premier League is unaware of any talks over a break taking place. However, pressure is likely to grow after both Sheffield United and Fulham were affected by new outbreaks of the virus.

Blades manager Chris Wilder revealed ahead of their match at Burnley that the club had seen "a couple" of players and "half a dozen" staff test positive.

"It's not an ideal situation but I don't think we're a club of one," Wilder told SUTV. "It [the virus] is picking up and it's running high at football clubs.

"We just notified the relevant authorities that we've had a situation at the football club. But I want to play football. That's how it is, we're not looking to get anything canned. We did the right thing as far as our responsibility to the Premier League and notified them regarding the players that are ill."

Manchester City began retesting their squad on Tuesday, hoping to have prevented a wider outbreak after Monday's postponement, while Arsenal confirmed on Monday that Brazilian defender Gabriel had tested positive for the virus.

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl did not attend his side's match with West Ham following a positive test in his household.

Nine games across the Championship, League One and League Two on Tuesday were postponed because of the virus.